Improvement in water-wheels



s/latent .chimicaduited getting 'ELI-Paritair DoUeHERTY, or NORTH Lnwiseune, omaAssicNon' 'ro HIMsELF AND J. M; Hoon, or SAME PLAGE.

Letters Patent No. 103,725, dated May 31, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-WHEELS.

The` Schedule 'referred to in these Lett-exs Patent and making part of the same 'To all whom it may cdncrn:

Be it. known that I, 'EmPHALET DOUGHERTY, of North Lewisburg, in the county of Champaign and in the State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements iu Water-Wheels; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to'the accompanying drawing and to the letters of refereucer'marked .thereon making a part of' this speciiication.

The nature o t' my invention consists in so constructing the wheel and the case of the wheel that,- in the application of .the water, an equal andfuniform .press-l ure ofthe column of water against the buckets of the wheel, from top to bottom, will be secured, and so as to prevent regurgitation of the lower strat-a of the column of Water while acting on the wheel; or if the wheel moves with lower strataoi` water, that the upper strata may not be too slow and not have their power, the wheel and case being so constructed as to secure the full force of thc water at the top of the column as it acts on the wheel, and-at everyintermediate pointto the bottom of the column, and thereby securing the greatest possible force of the water.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention vappertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to theannexed dra-wing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View, and

Figure 2 i's a side view of the wheel.

Figures 3 and 4 are portions of the wheel, showing the shape of the buckets.

The casing A A is constructed in conical form; exhibiting ratchet-shaped projections B B, to form the apertures or gates. The outer ends Vof these ratchet-shaped projections, being part of the top, A', A of the. case, are elevated or raised, so as to give the watera downward direction. The bottom A of the case is not a horizontal plane, vbut dips toward thc center. This dip in the bottom of the case I make equal to the downward curve of a jet of water spouting under the head it is designed to work the wheel. Between the project-ions B B and the bottom A of the case are placed plates C O, as shownv in tig. l.

On the inner ends of the plates C C are hinged the movable gates D D, constructed inthe peculiar form shown in g. I, said gates being outsidetof the line that describes the circumference of the wheel; in opening, moving outward and upward, following the dip of the bottcrn of the case.

At the outer end of the gate or double scroll I) is a pin, a, which is inserted in the slot on the sloping arm E, extending from the outer circumference of the ring G. This ring is placed in suitable guides on the top A of the case', and is turned by means of pinion b and-ratchet d, so as to open or close the gates D D.

The upper or outer sides of these double scrolls'are as much shorter as the difference in the speed of the water at the bottom of vthe column, and that at thel top divided. by the number of' scrolls. The hinges are 'placed sloping, so as to allow the scrolls or gates to foliow the dip of the ,bottom rim of the case.

In the construction ot' my wheel, so as to obtain au equal and uniform 'pressure of the water from the top to the bottom ofthe column, so that the motion of the wheel corresponds with the motion of -the water at every point of the head, I make myA wheel of bevel shape on the edge that is, the two heads of the wheel of unequal diameter, and by the following-rules:

First, draw a horizontal line; erect a perpendicular line from it. Then, from the point of intersection, lay out half thc diameter of the wheel ou the horizontal line. From a point on the perpendicular line, indicating the height of the head of water the vwheel is to work under, draw a line to the last mentioned point on the horizontal line. This line will show the bevel of' the wheel, and, as the water passes through the sluices in the case and comes in contact with. the

wheel, it meets with resistance, consequently making the line of depression greater.' I construct the bottom rim of the wheel with one-third more dip than the bottom of the case, Aso as to kccptheweight' of water from bearing upon the bottom rim ot' the wheel, and causing friction on the step.

It will be seen that the-whole arrangement' of the wheel tand case is madefrom and dependent ou the the heightof the head it is intended to work under, it

being the only perfect rule that can be used or'ap- Awork under. To ascertain the proper dip of' the bottom rim of the wheel, I dip or depress it one-third lower than the dip of the bottom A of the case. rlhe dip of the top rim ot' the wheel corresponds with that of the bottom rim.

The buckets I I of thewheel are laid oi" in the following manner:

I divide ol" the rim into as many equal parts as I desire to have buckets, by lines drawn from the center to the circumference, then draw a circle inside, leaving a space the width of the rim. l divide one of these spaces on the outer circle into three equal parts, as seenin iig. 4. With one point of the dividers at x describe the arch yz; then draw a straightline from the curve of the arch y'z to the outer curve of the inner circle at s. The curve y z and straight line 2s show the curve and length of the bucket. 'The e straight line z s should be a tangent to the arch y z and to the inner circle. f

The height of the wheel or distance between the rims is governed by the quantity of water vto be issued. The buckets do not rest perpendicularly on the bottom rim, but lean forward in the direction the wheel is to run, so that the water inits depressed course through the wheel will strike the bucket at right angles'. The uppervedge'of the bucket is shorter than the lower edge, so that upward lines touching the outside and inner ends of the buckets will form' the outward lines of a cone, in conformity to the rules given for the conical form of the Wheel.

This peculiar form of the buckets will permit tl1ewater ofthe upper and lower parts of the column to strike and issue from the buckets at the same instant, thus securing a uniform pressure and uniform issue of all p parts ot'vthe water.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The casing A A', Aconstructed and arranged as described, with ratchet-shaped projections B B and plates 0 C, substantially as and for thepurposesherein set forth.

2. The double scrolls or gates D D, constructed as described,'and hinged-in an inclined or sloping position at the inner endsof the plates C @substantially as and for the purposes'herein set forth.

3. The combination of the vring* G, arms E E, pins a a, and scrolls or gates D' D, constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

4. The conical-shaped wheel H, provided with buckets I I, when constructed asdescribed, according to the rules, andl for the purposes herein set forth.

5. The combination of the casing A A and the conical-shaped wheel H, with its buckets I I, when coustructed as described, according to the rules, and for the purposes herein set forth.

6. 'Ille combination of the casing A A, projections B B, plates O C, gates D D, ring G, arms E E, pins a, wheel'H, and buckets I I, all constructed and arranged substantially as and for. the purposes herein` sct forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of December, 1869.-

ELIPHALET DOlIGlEIBlR'I"Y.

Witnesses:

H. D. GOWEY, J. F. IiUNrER. 

